Hey, everyone! So I've been on this site for a while, mostly as a reader, but I thought I'd try my hand at writing. This is the first time I've ever written something like this, so reviews are appreciated, but please be gentle!

Ms. Regina Mills walked down the quiet hall toward her classroom early in the morning, her heels clicking against the tile the only sound in the otherwise empty school. It was only the first day of school, and there was really no reason for her to be there so early, as she didn't have any papers to grade yet or even lesson plans to work on (she was already prepared for the first few months of the semester). Even so, she had awoken promptly at five that morning, as she always did, and even after having gone for a jog and eaten breakfast, she had plenty of time to spare before she actually had to be at work.

She supposed she was there so early simply because she had nothing better to do, and besides, she liked the few moments of quiet before the students arrived. She wasn't the only one there, she knew, as the gym teacher usually showed up early to do her own laps at the track. She rarely came down to the main school from the gym, however, so Regina didn't see much of her, though it wasn't as though she needed the companionship. She was perfectly fine on her own, thank you very much.

Truth be told, Regina wasn't really looking forward to the new school year. She had a reputation for being a bit of a hardass, and the students didn't really like her. Actually, unless they were honors students and looking for a challenge, they avoided her classes at all costs. As if any English class should really be all that difficult for children who grew up speaking the language, unlike Regina. Her Latino father had taught her Spanish from a very young age, and it was the language she had always spoken to him in their home. Sometimes she still reverted to it when particularly frustrated or tired.

Regina had just finished her second cup of coffee when the first bell rang and students began pouring from the hallway into their respective classrooms. They had been buzzing about for some time now, and while the buzz grew into a full roar in most classrooms, that was not the case in Ms. Mills' room. The students filed in quietly and took their seats, mostly toward the back of the room, so Regina had to shoo them forward into the desks in the front.

She had never stuck to the idea that the first day should be a freebie, and after a short introduction of herself and the class that these poor unfortunate souls had landed themselves in, the students were given their first assignment: a short, one-page essay over what they had done over the summer. An easy assignment that they should finish within the class period, just enough to get them back into the swing of things.

If they would do it, of course. As Regina sat at her desk reading, she became aware of a voice, whispering quietly at first, but soon growing louder and more confident. She looked up over her reading glasses to see two girls sitting next to each other, one in a pair of rather skimpy shorts and crop top that Regina should probably dress-code her for, the other a sort of mousy-looking girl who was obviously trying to ignore the first, who was talking animatedly to her.

Regina quietly rose and walked over to stand directly behind the former, catching the tail end of the pickup line the girl was trying to use: "I'm not a photographer, but I can picture us together." She almost snorted in laughter… almost. In order to keep up her image as a no-nonsense hardass, however, she leaned over the girl's shoulder and murmured, "I suppose you've finished your assignment, then, to be hitting on people in my class, Miss…?"

"Lucas," the girl replied after a moment of being startled by the teacher's sudden appearance. "Ruby Lucas."

"Well, then, Miss Lucas, have you finished your assignment? I would ever so much like to read it."

Ruby gulped and looked down.

"No, ma'am, I haven't. I didn't do much this summer."

"I suspect you could fill a mere twenty-six lines with a short description of what 'nothing' entailed, dear. And you should not be distracting other students who clearly are trying to do their work. If it happens again, it will be an automatic detention, and I would not wish to give a detention on the first day of class, and certainly not in the first period."

Ruby nodded and glued her eyes to the empty notebook paper in front of her.

Regina made her way back to her desk, thinking over the pickup line with a humored smirk. She had to admit the girls would make a cute couple.

She just hoped Ruby wouldn't continue with the pickup lines, because they had the potential to make her laugh her ass off, and that just wouldn't do.

"Hey, Belle! Wait up!" Ruby called as the bell rang and everyone started to make their way to their next classes.

"What do you want, Ruby? You almost got us both in trouble back there. What were you thinking, doing that in Ms. Mills' class, of all people?"

"Just wanted to know what other classes I might get to irritate you in," Ruby winked. "And you can't act like you don't like my pickup lines. I know you do. You can't resist them forever."

Belle just rolled her eyes and resignedly handed over her schedule, which Ruby scanned and groaned.

"Man. Just that stupid English class and gym. I won't even get to talk to you that much in either of those classes! That sucks." Ruby pouted. "I guess I'll just have to make up for it during lunch."

"Please don't."

Wrapping an arm around Belle's shoulders, Ruby leaned in and drawled, "You love it. You love me, too, you just don't know it yet."

Belle shook Ruby off and moved to get to class. She didn't turn around when she heard Ruby call, "See you in gym!" She just shook her head and tried to ignore the blush that crept up her cheeks.

Emma Swan couldn't wait to get to work. She needed a good volleyball team this year if she expected to beat Storybrooke's rival school, Boston. She was also super glad that this year, a male coach had been hired, so she didn't have to deal with the football team on top of volleyball. She could just focus on helping her girls win.

Of course, there were other advantages to not having to deal with the guys. No more of their horrid smell, for one. No dumb jocks trying to pick up her girls and causing distractions, for another.

Not that Ruby Lucas didn't make up for the loss of that.

Emma was pretty butch herself, but Ruby was just a raging lesbian. She did seem to have her sights set on one girl in particular, though. Poor Belle didn't have a chance.

For all her irritation at Ruby, Emma just couldn't bring herself to be angry with her, seeing as she was such a good player. Emma just knew with her on the team, Boston didn't stand a chance this year.

So she put up with the actually-sort-of-hilarious pickup lines. Where that child came up with all of them, Emma would never know, but she had a new one every day. Several new ones, actually, and if her antics during practice were any indicator of what she was up to during her other classes, then Ruby probably went through several hundred lines a day.

The first month of school went by in a rush, and the volleyball team was thriving with Ruby as their star hitter. They were undefeated thus far, and with playoffs coming up, Coach Swan couldn't be happier.

Ms. Mills rolled her eyes as Ruby put down the dry-erase marker. In the corner of the front whiteboard there was now a little box that read: Pickup Line of the Day: I'm writing a term paper on the finer things in life; would you mind if I interview you? She refrained from making a comment about how she wished Ruby would actually write anything.

After Ruby's incessant flirting with Belle for the first two weeks of school, she had struck a deal with the teacher: if she could write one line each day on the board, she would leave Belle alone for the rest of the class period and allow the girl to actually do her work. Regina had only given in because Belle had looked at her with big, pleading eyes, and Regina had sympathized with her. The girl had been forced to do her work at home every day because Ruby wouldn't relent during class.

She had to admit, some of the lines were really quite good. She remembered one in particular that had almost made her choke on her coffee after glancing up from the papers she had been grading to see it sitting in blue letters in the corner of the board. I may not go down in history, but I'll go down on you. That one, of course, didn't stay up for long.

"Today," Ms. Mills began as she made her way to the front of the class with a stack of papers, "you'll be glad to hear that there is no writing assignment. Today I am going to return to you your most recent essays from this week, and, now this is very important, I will be giving you your first report cards. You'll want to remember that if you are on any sports team you must be passing all of your classes in order to play. As always, if you have questions about your grade on a paper, you may ask me. That goes for grades on your report card as well." With that, she began walking around the room distributing essays first, then report cards.

Ruby didn't think much of her most recent essay grades. They were failing, but the ones before were passing, so they should even out, right?

Wrong. She took one look at her grades and realized that she was in huge trouble.

"Erm, Ms. Mills?"

Regina held up a finger for Ruby to wait a moment so she could finish the paragraph she was reading. Then she removed her black-rimmed glasses and set them down atop the stack of essays.

"Yes, dear?"

"I'm failing your class," she stated plainly.

"Yes, dear." Regina gave her a look that said, "Well, of course you are, child. Obviously."

"Why?"

Ruby watched the teacher's eyes widen in disbelief and suddenly realized that she should have put a little more thought into her phrasing.

"Miss Lucas, you have barely completed the objectives for any of your assignments, and most of the time you don't even do that. You don't meet the minimum word count, you don't clearly state a thesis, and when you do, you either don't support it well or you end up with an entirely different conclusion than your thesis states, and you are too busy hitting on Miss French to get anything done in class when I could actually help you. That is why you are failing." She picked her glasses back up and went back to grading, mumbling something under her breath in what sounded like a foreign language to Ruby.

"But Ms. Mills! I need to pass! Playoffs start soon!"

"I'm sorry, but perhaps you should have thought about that and applied yourself better."

Ruby slumped in her seat and Belle looked at her apologetically.

She had to find some way to pass, or Coach was going to kill her.

"You what?!"

"I promise it's not that bad, Coach. She's gotta pass me if you go talk to her. I'm not that far below passing. Just, like, fifteen points."

"It was eighteen, Ruby," Belle muttered.

Ruby whirled on her, and it was the first time Coach Swan had seen her make anything other than a lovesick face at the quiet brunette.

"Shut. Up. Belle," she hissed.

Belle looked surprised, too, and she raised her hands in surrender before saying, "I'm just gonna go warm up. Good luck with Ms. Mills."

She ran off, leaving Emma pinching the bridge of her nose and Ruby looking sheepishly at her.

"Have you asked for extra credit?"

"Yes, but she says it won't be enough for me to play, just enough that I'll have a chance at passing the semester."

The blonde huffed a sigh and nodded, closing her eyes.

"Fine. Let's go see her. I'll try to get you some more. But if she doesn't give and you don't pass, you will be doing burpees for weeks, Lucas."

A knock sounded at the door and Regina looked up, confused. It was her conference period. There shouldn't be any students out and about. Who was at the door?

"Come in," she said, loudly enough for whoever was outside to hear.

The door cracked open, and a blonde head peeked in.

"Ms. Mills? Is it all right if we come in? We don't mean to interrupt."

"It's fine. This is my conference period. Who is we?"

Upon hearing the affirmation, the blonde stepped fully through the door, followed closely by Ruby Lucas. Regina raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow upon seeing her, but Ruby just looked at the floor.

"I don't know that we've met before, Ms. Mills," the blonde said, stepping forward. "I'm Coach Swan; I'm the volleyball coach. I guess I don't get to meet too many of the actual teachers, spending most of my time in the gym and all."

Regina took in her disheveled appearance. She was dressed in grey sweatpants and a white tank top that showed off strong-looking arms. Her blonde hair was curly and probably would have looked wonderful falling around her shoulders if it weren't pulled into a messy ponytail. Her green eyes shifted nervously, and Regina thought triumphantly that her reputation preceded her enough that she even intimidated this woman that could beat her to a pulp if she wanted to.

She stood and walked around her desk to meet the hand that was offered her.

Upon watching the dark-haired woman stand, Emma's brain short-circuited. She was wearing a tight black dress that showed off her every curve and gave a generous view of her cleavage and tall black fuck-me heels that allowed her to look the blonde directly in the eye and holy fuck, was that even appropriate to wear to school?

When she grasped Emma's hand to shake it, Emma finally snapped out of it, although she couldn't seem to stop stealing glances at full, blood red lips that she was sure would feel amazing against her own and in… other places.

She was vaguely aware of the other woman saying something, but she was too busy listening to the rich melody of her voice to comprehend it.

She shook her head, shaking off the last of the haze, and stuttered, "Huh? I-I'm sorry, w-what was that?"

"I asked what I could do for you, dear."

Oh, you could do quite a bit for me, miss.

"Oh, yes, of course. Ruby here tells me she's failing your class. She says you've given her extra credit, but it won't be enough to get her to passing this grading session?"

"No, it won't. I don't usually give any extra credit, but if she does it and applies herself during the next grading sessions, she should pass the semester."

Fuck, she's tough and sexy.

"Is there any way to get her passing? Volleyball playoffs are coming up, and she's an extremely valuable player. The team really needs her. How close will what you've given her already get her?"

"It will bring her grade up ten points."

"So that leaves her lacking eight."

"That is correct." Regina nodded, bouncing her short, dark locks around her face.

"Can we work something out so that she can gain those? I can make her run laps or do bear crawls or something like that."

The older woman just laughed and Emma was entranced again.

"Physical punishment for academic credit? I think not. Miss Lucas has not done adequate work all semester. She should have applied herself better to those essays." Regina moved to go back to her desk, picked up her glasses, and went back to grading papers. "Now, if you don't mind, my conference is almost over. Good day."

Ruby slumped and slipped out the door, but Emma just stood there looking at her.

Damn this woman and her glasses… Fuck, the glasses are even hotter; how does she do that?

"Should have applied herself to the earlier essays…" she murmured. Then, louder, "So if she had done better on some of those essays, she'd have passed?"

Regina looked over the edge of her glasses at the blonde still standing in the middle of the floor.

"Yes, I'd imagine she would have."

Wheels started turning in Emma's head.

"What if… What if she redid them? For, like, half credit? That way you would know she really worked for it. Plus whatever physical punishment you see fit."

Regina stopped grading and sighed, taking her glasses back off and pinching the bridge of her nose as if Emma were truly irritating her.

"I can't allow my students to think that they'll get second chances if they don't put forth the effort the first time. Not to mention I wouldn't have the time to regrade all those papers. It's a matter of principle."

"I understand that, I do, but please. This year, we have a chance to win playoffs, and probably state, and beat Boston, but only if we have her. The team needs her to do this." Emma put on her most pitiful pleading look and used her puppy dog eyes. "Please, Ms. Mills. If she screws this up, I'll never ask for extra credit on behalf of an athlete again."

When brown eyes met green, Emma knew that she had won. Even this sexy authoritative woman couldn't say no to her puppy dog pout. The brunette pretended to study her and consider it for a moment, but Emma knew.

With a sigh, she replied, "Tell Ruby to pick eight essays to rewrite. She'll need to turn them in along with the original work so that I can compare. For each essay that has improved to the point to which it is passing, I'll give her another point toward her passing grade. I need them by next Wednesday, as final grades go in that Friday."

Emma's face lit up, and she almost jumped over the desk to hug the other woman. Instead, she just jumped up and down like a child and watched the brunette roll her eyes at her antics.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! She won't let you down! I promise!"

"Well, that's an awfully big promise to make, dear. Perhaps you should tell her to get her little crush Belle to help her, if she can stop flirting for thirty seconds. Belle has always done well in this class; I'm sure she could help Ruby revise."

"Aren't those two cute? I think Ruby's gonna get her one of these days, even with those cheesy lines."

Regina rolled her eyes yet again and gestured toward the whiteboard, which held the "Pickup Line of the Day."

"So she got you, too," Emma laughed.

Regina just shrugged.

"I have to admit, some of them are pretty cute."

"How did you manage that, Coach? I thought I was dead."

"I made a reasonable proposal. And I used the puppy dog pout. I've never met anyone who could say no to that. Anyway, you've got lots of work to do, kid. She also suggested maybe you get Belle to help you revise," the blonde winked at the younger girl. "Might be a good opportunity to employ a method other than cheesy pickup lines. As long as you do manage to get those essays done."

Ruby blushed and stared pointedly at the floor.

"What, now you're embarrassed? You're not exactly subtle about it, you know."

Ruby looked up and retorted, "Well, what about you? I saw how you looked at Ms. Mills. And the stuttering? You weren't exactly subtle, either."

Now it was Emma's turn to shift uncomfortably and cross her arms defensively over her chest.

"Don't worry, Coach, I get it. She's hot. But she's no Belle." Ruby winked and started to walk off. "If it helps, she looked you over, too. Maybe you should employ some methods. Now, I am going to go get my girl."

Emma took a moment to stare after her, mouth agape. Ms. Mills had given her a once-over? She had looked terrible. If she had known the English teacher was going to be so attractive, she'd have at least taken her hair down. And put on some makeup. And put on some jeans, at least, rather than those horrid sweats.

She groaned when she realized what the other woman must have thought of her. She probably thought she slept in her car and didn't know how to properly take care of her personal hygiene.

"Maybe I'll just have to show her otherwise," the coach muttered under her breath. But she'd need some excuse to go down to the school to see her… How could she manage that?

"Ugh, I hate these stupid essays."

"Well, maybe if you had even tried to do them properly the first time, we wouldn't be in this predicament now," an accented voice floated over to Ruby, who had dropped her head onto the diner table with a thud. Upon recognizing her crush's voice, Ruby's eyes snapped up to Belle's highly unamused expression and she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

"Belle! I knew you would save me! I don't have any idea what I'm doing."

The smaller brunette rolled her eyes and sighed, "Obviously. Which eight did you choose?"

"I didn't choose. I'm gonna do as many as possible just in case the first eight aren't up to her standards." Ruby nodded to the pile of papers at the edge of the table. "I'm just grabbing them one at a time and trying to redo them, but this is hard. I haven't even finished one."

"So I see. But on the bright side, today is only Saturday. If we can do two every day, you can be done in time. And with my help, I doubt you'll have to do more than the eight she required."

Ruby crossed her arms and slid down in the booth.

"This is stupid. I don't wanna do these. I wish Coach could just get in her pants and convince her to just pass me."

"Ruby!" Belle scolded. "You can't just put two people together because it would be convenient for you."

"Yeah, but Coach totally has a thing for her. And, hey, if teachers can ship students, why can't students ship teachers? You know they both ship us," Ruby grinned.

"Don't be ridiculous," Belle snorted. "You are annoying and irritatingly adorable." Her eyes widened and she slapped a hand over her own mouth. "I mean irritating. Annoying and irritating."

"Ha! I knew it! You looooove me! You want to huuuuuug me! You want to kiiiiiiss me! You know you loooove me!" Ruby jumped up and sang. She slid into the other side of the booth and, wrapping her arms around a now blushing Belle, pressed a wet kiss to her cheek.

"So… you think I can take you on an actual date sometime? Instead of meeting at Granny's to work on school stuff?"

Belle was still looking down at the table, but Ruby saw her give the tiniest of nods, and jumped up with a whoop.

"Hey, you guys!" she yelled to the diner, "I've got a date with this gorgeous girl here! Wooooooooooooooooooo!"

"Ruby," Belle hissed, "Sit. Down."

Ruby obeyed and grinned, saying, "Now we just have to get Coach Swan and Ms. Mills together."

"Why on earth would we need to do that? You don't even know that Ms. Mills likes Coach as much as Coach likes her. What if you just screw Coach over?"

Ruby leaned forward on her elbows and replied, "You don't think I know how to get my girl? You have firsthand knowledge of my abilities. Coach just needs a little help, and Ms. Mills will definitely fall for her charms like a giggling schoolgirl." She sat back in the booth, hand at her chin, considering the best course of action. After a few moments, her eyes brightened and she looked as though a light bulb had gone off… Which Belle was not entirely sure was a good thing. "I've got it. Ms. Mills is an English person, yeah? I bet she'd love some romantic poetry… Plus some good old-fashioned pickup lines. I know she actually likes them. She thinks they're funny."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, if someone were to write her some anonymous notes…"

"Oh, no you don't. You are not going to do this without Coach Swan's approval."

"Just to warm her up to the idea! We start leaving the notes, and after we can tell she's starting to like the person behind them, we send in Coach. She starts being charming in person, we keep sending the notes, and viola! It's just a matter of time before we start leaving the note-writing to Coach and she can get ready to reveal it's her."

Belle shook her head with a sigh.

"Look, I don't think it's a good idea, but even so, you have more important things to focus on. Like passing English. So let's just get on top of that for now, yeah?"

"Fine. But mark my words, I'll get those two together."

This has been an awfully long week, Regina thought. And it's only Monday.

She sat back in her desk chair and rubbed her temples, trying to ward off the headache she felt coming on. Her classes thus far had been unusually rowdy, and it was all she could do to keep from snapping at her students.

There was a gentle knock on the door, and Regina sighed. Of course she wouldn't get any peace, not even during her conference period.

"Come in," she barked, and Ruby stuck her head in the door.

"Hey, Ms. Mills. I just wanted to drop off some of my rewritten essays. It isn't all of them, but I thought it might be easier on you to look at them as I go instead of all at once."

For all her irritation at the situation, Regina couldn't bring herself to be angry with the girl. She was, after all, finally trying. Not to mention she was really being quite considerate in not turning in all eight essays at the same time and leaving Regina to grade them at the last minute. She really did appreciate the thought, so she waved the girl into the room and took four essays from her.

"You seem to have gotten quite a bit done over the weekend. I assume you took my advice and asked your little friend to help?"

Ruby's face burst into a smile and she exclaimed, "Yeah! Belle is great help, and she even said she'll let me take her on a date this Friday to celebrate if I end up passing! I'm super excited!"

"It seems she certainly knows how to motivate you," Regina chuckled.

"Yeah, I knew she couldn't resist the pickup lines. No one can. Even you like them. Maybe I'll tell Coach Swan to use some on you."

"… Excuse me? Why would Miss Swan need to use pickup lines on me?"

"Oh, I thought… Never mind. I just thought you two had a look the other day. My mistake." Ruby smirked a little, knowing she had successfully put the idea of being with the coach into her teacher's head.

Regina shook her head a little and sputtered, "That is ridiculous, Miss Lucas! And also entirely inappropriate. Miss Swan and I are coworkers, and nothing more."

"Oh, of course, Ms. Mills. Anyway, I'll have two more essays for you tomorrow, and then the last two on Wednesday. We're doing two per day. It's easier to break them up. Thanks, by the way. I know you don't have to do this. I really do appreciate it."

She turned as if to leave, but when Ms. Mills turned to get something out of the cabinet behind her desk, she put a sticky note on her computer screen, then scampered out of the room.

In the hallway, she grinned like an idiot. This was going to work.

Regina sat again to start on Ruby's essays. The child really was endearing. A bright green splash of color caught her attention, and she turned her head to see a lime green sticky note on her computer screen. That hadn't been there before, had it?

It had just one word on it: smile.

She tilted her head and considered the note for a moment, wondering who had put it there and who would actually care enough to ask her to smile.

And then she did.

Over the next few days, Regina found post-it notes all over the place. They appeared twice a day: before any of her classes had started, and sometime during her conference period. She thought at first that Ruby may have been writing them, but quickly dismissed the thought as Ruby was entirely infatuated with Belle. Perhaps, she thought, she was delivering them for someone. She made up her mind to ask Ruby when she had the opportunity.

Ruby had turned in all eight of her essays and had improved them so much that, even though Regina knew Belle had probably told her exactly what to write, she was now passing and would get to play volleyball again. She had been excited enough about that that she had enveloped Regina in a bone-crushing hug when the teacher told her the good news. She was already more focused in her class and appeared to have learned her lesson.

The bell rang and as the other students were packing up to leave, Regina fingered the note she had found on her coffee cup this morning. It read, I haven't seen you yet today, but god, you look great. How do I know? You always look amazing.

"Ruby?" She stopped the girl before she could walk out the door. Ruby looked back over her shoulder before turning fully to face the older woman.

"Yes, Ms. Mills?"

"Ruby, these notes have been appearing in rather strange places for the past couple of days." She held up the green post-it. "Do you know where they're coming from?"

Ruby hid her smirk with a shrug.

"Why would I know where they're coming from?"

"They have a tendency to arrive near when you do. Early in the morning, before your class, and during my conference, when you were coming in to give me your essays."

"Sorry, Ms. Mills, I don't know who's been writing you notes."

Regina's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but Ruby just turned to look at the clock.

"I'm going to be late for my next class. If the notes are a problem, then I'll ask around, but if not, maybe just don't question it? Sometimes people just like to do nice things. Enjoy it." With that, she headed out the door and toward her next class, grinning like a madwoman.

"So, Coach… Have you decided how you're gonna win Ms. Mills over?" Ruby asked after practice, and Belle stood next to her shaking her head.

"Can't you just give it a rest, Ruby?" her girlfriend asked. "She may not even be that interested in Ms. Mills."

"Shush, you," Ruby pecked her lips to quiet her, "I know what I've seen. And you," she turned her attention to the blonde, "have been dressing a lot nicer lately. Don't think I don't know what that's about. You want to impress her." Emma shrugged and looked down at herself. She had started trying to look nicer on the off chance she ran into the brunette teacher, but she hadn't worked up the nerve to go to her.

"So what?"

"So it's gonna be pretty hard to impress her if you never see her." Emma rolled her eyes at her and stuck out her tongue.

"I'm working up to it…"

"I think you should go now," Ruby suggested.

"What? It's five in the afternoon. She won't still be here."

"She most certainly will. She grades papers and does lesson plans here; she'll still be in her room, I promise. Playoffs are starting. Go in there, tell her you wanted to thank her for giving me more extra credit so I could play, and invite her to tomorrow's game." Then Ruby had an idea of how to hint to the brunette teacher that it was the blonde coach leaving her notes. She dug through her backpack for a pad of green sticky notes and handed it to her coach. "Write something sweet on this… I've been doing this bit for you for a while. Leave it somewhere she'll find it, but be sure she doesn't see you put it there. I've been leaving one in the morning and one during her conference period."

"You what?"

"She likes them. I think she looks forward to them. But if you're going to go see her, then she needs to start connecting them with you… Right now, she's kind of on to me. Also, drop some verbal hints that might tie you to the notes. When you go there today, make sure you say something about how good she looks, that she always looks great."

"Ruby, I-"

"No buts." Ruby looked at the stunned blonde sternly. "You are going down there. You look great. Just remember what I said." She gave the older woman a shove. "Now, get down there and get your girl."

Emma took a deep breath and looked down at the note she had hidden in her hand. I like calling you beautiful but what I'd really love to call you is mine. When did she get so cheesy? She tried to gather her wits and knock, as she'd been trying to do for quite some time now. She felt she'd been standing there for hours, just trying to summon up the courage to knock on the door, but when she finally raised her hand to do it, the light inside the room went off and the door opened to reveal the woman Emma had spent so much time thinking about.

Emma stood there with her mouth open when the brunette brushed her hair out of her face and said, "Oh, Miss Swan. What a surprise. Did you need me?"

Yes… Yes, I do need you.

"Um, I just… Uh… I wanted to thank you for giving Ruby the opportunity to pass so she could play. We really appreciate it. Wow, you look great… I mean, not that you ever don't; you always look really amazing…" Her eyes ran over the woman's royal blue dress that showed from underneath the black trench coat she had donned. She could tell it was just as tightly fitted as the black one she had first seen the woman in, but this one did have a more modest neckline. Gods, her legs, though… she had wonderful legs, covered in stockings, and Emma couldn't help but wonder whether she wore thigh highs with garters, just to be even more sexy. It certainly wouldn't surprise her.

Regina tilted her head curiously. Those words… They matched the ones on this morning's note. She shook her head. The coach would have to be very good to manage to plant all those notes with Regina never seeing her. It couldn't be.

"Well, I could say the same for you, Miss Swan. You seem to clean up quite well." Regina found her eyes wandering over the blonde in her suit. She was wearing black slacks with a white button down tucked into them, complete with a blazer and a black tie. She really looked quite dashing in Regina's opinion, especially with the straightened blonde locks pulled back into a much neater ponytail than they had been the last time they had met. It was a shame to pull them back; Regina could remember thinking that they would look lovely framing her face.

Emma's whole face turned beet red, and she looked so cute, Regina couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Th-thanks… Um, anyway, I just wanted to say thanks… And I was thinking, maybe you'd like to come see why I'm so grateful? The first playoff game is tomorrow, and Ruby thought it would be cool if you came. If you're not too busy of course, or if you don't need to go home to someone…" Emma knew that her probing for information was obvious, but she hoped it came across as just a casual friendly interest.

"We'll see. I usually keep pretty busy with grading, but perhaps I can manage to keep tomorrow night free. And no, I don't have anyone to go home to." Regina leaned in and tilted her head. "I've never been much for sporting events, but perhaps I can make an exception."

Emma grinned like an idiot before remembering the post-it hidden in her palm. What to do about that?

On an impulse, and with a flash of courage, she leaned closer to the brunette woman and leaned her palm against the classroom door for an instant before pulling away with the note between her fingers, acting like she had pulled it off the door.

Regina stiffened at the blonde's proximity and felt her breath against her hair before the taller woman pulled away.

"What's this?" Emma asked, as if she had not been hiding the note in her hand just seconds earlier.

Heart still pounding from having the coach so close to her, Regina turned to look at the door, then the green paper in the other woman's hand. She must not have noticed it on the door earlier because she was talking with the blonde.

"Oh… Someone's been leaving me those. They always seem to show up at the most unexpected times, and in the most unexpected places."

Emma pretended to scan the note before handing it over and watching normally olive skin grow pink when she read the words.

"Seems to me like someone's got it bad for you, Ms. Mills." Green eyes roamed obviously over the other woman and an eyebrow raised suggestively. "Not that I'd blame them."

Regina's eyes widened as she tried to figure out the blonde's game. They stared at each other for a few moments before Regina cleared her throat and excused herself, saying, "I really should be going. I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Swan."

"Please, call me Emma."

She nodded.

"Emma. I'll see you tomorrow."

"I hope so."

With that, Regina made her way to the faculty parking lot, leaving Emma standing there in the hall with a dopey grin on her face.

You're the apple of my eye, said the green post-it this morning. It came with a shiny red apple on her desk, and Regina couldn't help but think it was simply too cute, if a little clichéd to give a teacher an apple. She shook her head and looked around the room as her students filed in, wondering what to do about her mysterious admirer. If it were a faculty member, that wouldn't be such a big problem, but what if it were a student? That would be simply unacceptable.

To an extent, she thought, it was normal to have a crush on a teacher, but that usually occurred when a female student was pining after an attractive male teacher… This would be an unusual case if it were a student.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Ruby appeared in front of her desk. She was smiling and clasping her hands behind her back.

"So, Ms. Mills, are you going to come to the game tonight? It'd be really cool if you could. I know Coach Swan was hoping you would, too."

"Actually, I think I will. And since I would prefer to not have to grade anything today because of that," she raised her voice, "today will be a makeup day. If you're missing anything, I'd suggest you work on it during this class period; as you know, I do not usually give these."

Ruby let out a cheer and clapped her hands before saying, "Yes! I'm so glad you're gonna come! We'll win just for you, Ms. Mills!" Then she scampered off to her desk because she did indeed need the makeup day, although she never let herself get as far behind as she had been before again.

This time the knock came during lunch, surprising Regina. Some teachers allowed students to have lunch in their rooms, but she had never been one of them, and she was just thinking that she'd turn whoever was at the door away when the blonde coach walked in.

"Miss Sw-"

"Emma."

Regina shook her head and smiled warmly. "Of course. Emma. Can I do something for you?"

Must you always ask that? It always sends my mind to inappropriate places.

Emma held up a bag and replied, "I thought you might like some lunch, unless you've already eaten?" She nervously watched as one brow rose and the other woman eyed the takeout bag.

"I mean no offense, but I wasn't aware we were on such friendly terms."

The blonde shrugged. "I just thought maybe you might get as lonely as I do at lunch. To be perfectly honest, Coach Jones isn't the best of company. And," she looked around as if to ascertain that they were alone, "he won't stop hitting on me and I've had about enough."

It wasn't a lie. Killian Jones hadn't left her alone since he started working at Storybrooke High. She could handle him, of course, but her patience was growing thin. He just didn't seem to understand the word no.

Regina laughed and waved her over. "Why didn't you say so? I've already eaten but you're welcome to come here whenever you like if he makes you uncomfortable. I did hear he was a rather unsavory character. Although, I've also heard he's quite handsome."

Emma plopped down in a chair, pulled a grilled cheese out of her bag, and, biting into it, replied, "I guess he's okay, if you're into that."

"Into what?"

Emma thought for a moment about whether she should say what she was really thinking or play it safe. She decided to just go for it.

"Men."

The older woman froze for a moment before meeting the green eyes boring into her. They seemed to be studying her, gauging her response. Like the blonde had a personal interest in the other woman's sexual preferences. She decided she wasn't going to give anything away.

"… I see. And you aren't… Into men?"

"No."

"Well, then I wish you luck in finding the right woman."

The blonde leaned forward, placing her elbows against Regina's desk, never breaking eye contact.

"I think I already have."

The brunette gave a tight smile and said, "Well, then I'm glad for you."

"There is a problem, though, Ms. Mills."

"Please, my name is Regina."

"Regina." Her name tasted wonderful on her lips and those wonderful melted chocolate eyes were on her and Emma was in way over her head, but she was in too deep now to stop.

"What's the problem, Emma?"

She licked her thin pink lips and took a deep, shuddering breath. "She doesn't know. At least, I don't think she knows. But, god, she is perfect, and I don't think she knows I exist, and the moment I first saw her, I loved her."

Regina tilted her head and provided a simple solution: "Perhaps you should tell her."

"But I don't know if she's… You know, if she swings that way. And even if she did, like I said, she's perfect. I don't deserve her. She's beautiful and smart and just way too good for me."

"Well, there's only one way to find out if she… 'swings that way.' And besides, it's not as though you aren't attractive or intelligent. You're a better catch than you think you are."

Emma blushed at the compliment, bit her lip, and nodded, trying to think of a way to tell her when they weren't at school. After all, it wasn't the most romantic place to confess one's love.

The bell signaling the end of lunch rang, and Regina stood.

"Excuse me. I need to make a few copies before my next class starts. Feel free to stay if you'd like."

"Of course. Thanks, but I actually need to be going, too."

Regina exited first, and Emma grabbed the apple still sitting on the desk and took a small bite. Then she sat it back down and scribbled on a green post-it, Don't worry, I tasted it. No poison.

"When are you going to ask her on an actual date?" Ruby asked, obviously irritated at how long it was taking her coach to confess her feelings to her teacher. "I mean, she's come to all our games; she even comes to the restaurants we stop at to celebrate when you ask her! She's interested, dammit! You've gotta do something a bit less… platonic."

"Ooh, that's a big word for you, Ruby. I'm proud," Belle teased her girlfriend. "I don't know why you're so invested in other people's love lives when you actually have an active one of your own to enjoy." She nuzzled her face into Ruby's neck and planted a kiss below her ear.

"Look, Ruby, I'm working on it, okay? I just… I want to get to know her a little first, okay?" Emma tried to explain.

"You eat lunch with her every day. Sometimes you meet up at Granny's. You don't think you know her well enough, with all the time you two spend with each other? Listen here, Coach, she went to our out-of-town games just because you asked her to. Some of those were really far away. Soon volleyball season will be over, and then you won't have an excuse to ask her to come places. You have to step up your game. I know she started writing notes back to you, and she obviously likes the person behind them. I'm pretty sure she already knows it's you, or at least she hopes so. It's time to tell her and take her on a date."

"Okay. Okay, you're right. Just… After the season ends, yeah?"

"Now, Coach."

"Hey, Regina?"

"Hello, Emma."

Regina was just finishing writing something on a pink sticky note to leave on her keyboard, where Emma had left a note this morning. She wondered what kind of saucy message she was leaving in reply to her rather inappropriate pickup line.

When Regina started writing notes back, it had surprised Emma, to say the least. After a few messages in which Emma assured Regina that she was not a student, Regina started flirting back with her anonymous admirer. Emma had stepped it up into some extremely racy messages and found that Regina's snarky replies were the things she most looked forward to during the day. She remembered what she had written earlier that morning and couldn't help but wonder if Regina would escalate it.

When the older woman turned to begin making the tea that she always drank with lunch, Emma snuck a glance at the keyboard. On it, there was her green note that read, I have a pretty good voice; I think you'd like it. But it'd sound better muffled by your lovely thighs. Just the idea of that scenario made her body flush with heat. What sent a jolt of electricity straight to her core though, was the reply.

There, in Regina's immaculate handwriting on that pink sticky note, was possibly the sexiest thing Regina had responded with yet. If it's truly so wonderful, I wouldn't want to silence it. I think it would sound better moaning my name.

Oh, dear fucking god. This woman will be the death of me.

She gulped as Regina turned back to face her. How could she leave that there and be so perfectly calm and collected?

On Regina's part, she was most certainly not calm and collected. She was supremely sexually frustrated, and it was entirely the fault of this mystery person who kept leaving sticky notes on her desk. When the first message had come that was sexual in nature, she hadn't been quite sure what to do. She had left a response telling the person that it was extremely inappropriate, especially seeing as she didn't know who they were, and they had assured her they weren't underage, which was a bit of a relief, but now she didn't know which of her fellow teachers was hitting on her.

She knew that Emma preferred women, but they were just friends, despite her hopes that it might be the endearing blonde whose company she had come to enjoy so much. She thought at first that it might be Mr. Jones given up on pursuing Emma, but she had never met him in person nor he her. She hoped to god it wasn't Mr. Glass; the history teacher always managed to give her the creeps. It was truly a mystery, but one she was determined to solve. She was going to find out who it was that was able to leave her aching with want with just a few words.

She sat back at her desk to see a very flushed Emma Swan sitting before her, and was immediately concerned.

"Emma, dear, are you all right? You look rather warm." She reached out her hand to touch the blonde's forehead, but Emma jerked away from the touch, making excuses.

"I'm fine, I just… Ah… I just jogged down here from the gym is all. I'm a bit warm; I'll cool off in a minute."

The brunette looked hurt for a moment at how she had pulled away from her touch, but then the look was gone and the concern was back. "Would you like me to open a window? Why did you run?" Her eyes widened. "Did Coach Jones-"

"I'm fine, Regina, really. I just felt like it, don't worry. He's still irritating, but nothing I can't handle."

"Why don't you just tell him that you prefer women? Wouldn't that make him stop?"

"Oh, I did. It made it worse," Emma sighed. "Now he keeps asking if he can watch or have a threesome or something along those lines."

"Oh…" It was Regina's turn to look uncomfortable. "I see."

"Sometimes it gets them off your back, sometimes it doesn't. Anyway, hey, I was thinking. As long as we win this next game and go to state, we only have two more games, and just one if we lose. I know you've been coming to them, which is super great, I love the support, but I was thinking… If we go to state, it'll be a long way away. The game will be late, and we won't be making it home that night; I'll have to put the team up in a hotel. Coaches usually have a room to themselves, but if you're planning on coming, we could share a room? I don't want you trying to drive that, especially that late."

Regina pursed her lips and seemed to be weighing the pros and cons.

"Or you could go as a sponsor and not have to drive at all. Of course, you'd have to ride the bus with a bunch of rowdy teenage girls, but…"

"Okay."

A slow smile spread over Emma's face. "Really?"

Regina nodded, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I actually quite enjoy the attending the games, and I've been to all the playoff games. I wouldn't want to miss it when you win state. And it would be very nice to not have to drive all the way there and back. It sounds like fun."

Emma stood and cheered. Oh, she was going to have to make this good. She was going to be sharing a hotel room with this woman, and she was not going to let that go to waste.

The team had soundly beaten their rival in the last game, which meant they were going to state. After that game, Ruby, Belle, and the rest of the team had nearly crushed Emma in a smothering group hug, and when Regina had calmly made her way down to the court to congratulate them, she had been pulled in, too. They had shoved her to the center of the hug and pressed her against Emma so hard, she could barely breathe.

"Guys, guys!" Emma had yelled. "Don't crush the lady!"

When their only response was to press in closer so she and Regina were nose to nose, Emma knew that it wasn't just Ruby and Belle anymore. The whole team was in on Ruby's schemes. Emma had to wrap her arms around Regina and smuggle her out of the hug for them to finally relent.

Now, they were sitting in a bus on their way to state. It was a good eight-hour drive in the bus, so Regina was glad she had taken Emma up on her offer so she wouldn't have to drive it. The bus wasn't the most ideal mode of transport, but it was still better than doing the long drive alone. There were few enough people that everyone was able to have their own seat, which almost disappointed Emma as she would have liked to squish up next to Regina, but then she realized how much more comfy she could get, spread out over a full seat.

They had left at eight that morning and the game was at eight that night. That gave them plenty of time to warm up before they had to play, and Emma was confident they'd be victorious.

Emma walked toward the back of the bus, where she knew Ruby and Belle were sitting. She hadn't seen or heard from either of them for a good hour, and while she trusted Belle, the same could not be said for Ruby. There were a few empty seats in front of them, and when the coach finally made her way all the way to the back, she saw why. The two were stretched out across a seat, Ruby on top of Belle, having a serious makeout session.

"What are you guys doing? Man, if only the administrators could see this… This is the reason they insist guys and girls have to be on different buses, but does that stop the making out? Nooooooo," Emma laughed, interrupting them. "It most certainly does not."

Ruby looked up at her with a smirk and retorted, "You're just jealous, Coach. You haven't got your girl yet."

Emma stole a glance at the brunette sitting in the front reading contentedly. "I'm working on it. I have a plan for tonight, and it involves you guys winning, so you had better play well tonight, Lucas."

"Ooh, a plan, huh? Care to share?" Ruby crawled off her girlfriend and helped her into a sitting position so that they could listen, should the blonde decide to spill.

"Well, it might not be the best plan, but it involves you guys winning-"

"You said that."

"And me taking her out to celebrate."

"We're not gonna celebrate all together like we always do?"

"Well, yeah, of course we are, but I mean after that."

At this, Belle leaned over. "Wait… Are you saying you want to get her drunk?"

"No! Well… Maybe a little. Mostly I want to get me drunk. It'll make it easier, you know? Plus it's a decent excuse to fall back on if she ends up wanting nothing to do with me. But if she does want something to do with me… Well, we're sharing a room."

"You sly dog!" Ruby grinned and gave her a punch to the shoulder.

"I just hope it works," Emma sighed before making her way back to the front of the bus to sit with the woman who would hopefully be her lover by the end of the night.

This was it. 24-24. The first team to get two points ahead of the other team would win state. Regina could see from her spot in the stands how nervous Emma was, and Emma could feel those dark brown eyes on her.

They were huddled around during a timeout, and Emma had no idea what to say to her team.

"Listen, guys, don't let anyone get in your head. You've got this; I know you do. They only called for a timeout to throw you off your game. Don't let it. Go out there and do what you always do, yeah?"

Then Ruby stepped in. "Listen up, ladies, this is important. We all know we've been trying to get Coach here and Ms. Mills together. Well, the thing is, Coach has a plan for tonight that involves us winning, so basically, the possibility of this funny blonde right here getting laid tonight depends on us. We've gotta win, you got that?"

This earned a roar of determination from the entire team, and Emma could do nothing but stand back and watch, thinking, the hell?

The players made their way back to their positions on the court, and Emma looked over her shoulder to see Regina in her Storybrooke Knights sweater and skinny jeans leaning forward onto her knees, biting her lip with her eyes glued to the court as the other team was about to serve. It was the most unprofessional she had ever seen the other woman look, and she'd be damned if she didn't find it absolutely adorable. Emma grinned and turned to watch her girls get a perfect kill, with Ruby slamming the ball to the ground just on the other side of the net.

The crowd was yelling and so was the other team's coach, but Emma knew that Regina would be sitting silently, with bated breath, just waiting to see whether this point would end the game or if it would go on.

Belle stepped up to the serving line. She had never been so nervous to miss a serve in her life; she just couldn't afford it right now. She took a deep breath and looked to her girlfriend waiting at the ten foot line, who gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled back, and, feeling much more calm, tossed the ball in the air.

Regina watched the ball soar gracefully over the net, but the other team easily intercepted it, setting it up for a spike… Directly in Ruby's corner of the net. She grinned. There was no way that ball would be touching the ground with Ruby there. She blocked the spike, forcing the other team to dig it out of the net and try again, but when they did, they set it just too close to the net… And Ruby got there first. Regina heard Ruby's palm smack the white ball and it was too late. By the time the hitter on the other side of the net jumped, the ball was on the ground at her feet.

The crowd erupted into cheers and Regina jumped to her feet clapping. The team made to crush their coach in another hug, and Regina just laughed and watched until it died down enough for her to make her way down the bleachers. When she made it, she was swept off her feet by a crying blonde tornado, who spun her around and around before her feet finally touched the ground again. She didn't let go, though, instead burying her face in Regina's hair and laughing, "We did it!" over and over.

Regina held on just as tight.

None of the volleyball players wanted to go to sleep that night. They had gone to a 24-hour IHOP to celebrate, and, to the dismay of the waitstaff, had caused quite a ruckus. The team had pulled a bunch of tables together and shoved Emma and Regina into a booth together, with Belle and an overexcited Ruby on the other side and the rest of the team pressing into the tables next to the booth.

It had taken Emma an awfully long time to let go of Regina after the game, and while that hadn't exactly been part of her plan, the entire team had seen the fondness on Regina's face when Emma buried her face in the brunette's neck, laughing hysterically. Whatever their coach's plan was, it was already working.

Emma was on a high the entire time they were at the restaurant, and on the bus ride back to the hotel, too. They had just won state, and she was absolutely ecstatic. Not to mention Regina hadn't seemed to mind her nearly squeezing the life out of her. She hoped the rest of the night went as well.

It was nearly midnight by the time they got back to the hotel, and after making sure that all the girls were in their rooms, Emma and Regina made their way back to their own. Emma flicked on the lights and smiled to see she had gotten what she asked for: one king-sized bed rather than two queens. She would act as though she had asked for two beds, of course, but she would greatly enjoy sleeping next to the older woman.

Regina made a sound in her throat and Emma wasn't sure whether it was approval or disapproval. In any case, the older woman set down her overnight bag and tilted her head, contemplating the bed. In the end, she simply shrugged and asked, "Which side do you want?"

Emma told her she didn't have a particular preference and muttered something about having asked for two beds, but Regina couldn't make out all of the blonde's words as she plopped down in the desk chair, obviously not intent on sleeping any time soon, and truth be told, Regina was too wound up to sleep either.

"Hey, Regina?"

"Mmm?"

Emma looked up at her and said plainly, "I'm not going to be ready to go to bed for a while."

Regina chuckled. "Neither will I. That was far too exciting for me to be tired yet, although I'm sure it will hit us soon."

A devious smile spread across Emma's face, and she asked, "Wanna go out and celebrate some more?"

Regina laughed again and asked, "How would we get anywhere? We came on the bus. And we can't leave the girls here alone with that poor bus driver. That's not his job. Plus I really don't think we should be drunk on the drive back."

"We won't still be drunk by then, and they know they're not supposed to leave their rooms. I'll call us a taxi and we can go have fun."

The older woman shook her head, but a small smile graced her lips, and she replied, "Okay. But if we get in trouble for this with the administrators I am absolutely blaming you."

Emma's smile grew as she pulled out her phone to call a taxi, and in no time they were in a dark bar and Emma was downing shots.

"Emma!" She heard Regina's voice over the loud music. "Slow down! You'll make yourself sick!"

"Trust me, my dear, I can hold my liquor."

Emma was surprised to see Regina drinking what looked like just water.

"Hey! We came here to celebrate! Neither of us have to drive, so you come over here and get some of these shots!"

Regina giggled and replied, "I'm not much for shots, dear, but I quite enjoy vodka."

Emma watched with wide eyes in awe as Regina downed the rest of her drink and picked up a shot glass, saying, "I suppose one won't hurt, though."

She tossed it back and handed Emma another, laughing at the way the blonde was staring.

"Don't look at me like that. Everyone expects me to be a terrible lightweight, but I can hold my liquor, too."

After a few more drinks, Regina said, "We better stop. A hangover on that bus will not be pleasant."

Emma took one last shot and nodded, instead pulling the other woman onto the dance floor. Regina just laughed and told the blonde that she didn't dance, but Emma was having none of it. She pulled her closer and started dancing, and soon Regina was, too. Emma couldn't fathom why the older woman said she didn't dance when she was so damn good at it. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the club on them and dipped the older woman low, showing off a bit. Every once in a while, they stopped dancing long enough to grab another drink.

And that's when the flirting started, and god, hearing the saucy remarks fall directly from those red lips was sexier than Emma could imagine. Every now and then, some guy would approach them, obviously wanting to get in both their pants, and when Emma had finally had enough of that, she told one of them, "Go tell your friends that my girlfriend and I didn't order what you're serving. We're not interested."

When he had walked away, Regina leaned in, her lips brushing Emma's ear, and asked, "Girlfriend, huh?"

Emma was drunk enough to barely be nervous anymore, and she replied, "Well, who did you think was tasting your apples for poison? Prince Charming?"

It took Regina a moment to remember what she was talking about, but when she did, her eyes grew wide and she stopped dancing and just stared with her mouth agape at the blonde before her.

After getting over her momentary shock, she closed her mouth, lightly shook her head, and whispered, "It was you?"

Emma smiled shyly and waved a little. "Hi."

Regina grabbed her hand and suddenly she was being dragged out of the bar. Only after dragging her into an alley did Regina drop her hand, whirl on her, and hiss, "It was you?"

Emma gulped, unprepared for the brunette's apparent anger. What had she done wrong? Regina stood there waiting for her response, but her throat had gone dry and she couldn't seem to get the words out, so she simply nodded.

"You idiot," she heard, and, oh, this was not going how she had hoped at all. "I've been trying to figure out who it was for weeks, and all this time it's been you? What were you thinking?"

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she couldn't meet the older woman's gaze, so instead she stared at the ground and mumbled, "I don't know. I guess I was thinking it would be romantic or something. I guess I hoped," she drew in a shuddering breath and tried to keep her tears at bay, "that maybe you'd somehow fall in love with me without realizing it was me because I didn't think you would ever really like me that way and-"

"No, Emma, that's not what I meant. I meant what were you thinking waiting so goddamn long to tell me it was you?"

Wait, she wasn't mad that it was her? Emma looked up to meet a questioning, but certainly not angry, gaze from those wonderful chocolate eyes.

"I… I don't understand; what do you mean?" A few tears spilled over, and Regina wiped them away with the pads of her thumbs before taking both of the blonde's hands in hers.

"I'm sorry if I made you think I was mad," she said soothingly as she stroked the back of Emma's palms with her thumbs. "I am irritated you waited so long, but not mad."

"What?"

Regina just shook her head, and, not wanting to have this conversation in a dark alley, suggested, "Let's grab a taxi back to the hotel, hmm?"

Emma nodded and they caught a cab and rode in silence.

Emma swiped her key card to let them into the room and almost fell into the desk chair while Regina perched on the edge of the bed. The bed. Emma had probably done that on purpose, she thought, if she had been the one behind all the notes.

They sat quietly for a while longer. Regina traced the pattern on the bedspread with her fingertips and Emma fidgeted nervously, waiting for the other woman to say something.

Finally Regina looked up to meet the green eyes trained steadily on her.

"Emma, are you familiar with Edmond Rostand's work Cyrano de Bergerac?"

The blonde looked taken aback at the odd question. "Um… What language is that in?"

Regina cracked a smile and shook her head, trying to clear away the drunken haze that had taken over her mind. It was no use, though, so she tried to power through it and explain to a still sniffling and obviously still drunk Emma why she was not angry with her.

"It was originally in French. It's a play. It's about a man, Cyrano, who has fallen in love with a beautiful woman, Roxane. Cyrano is very talented, especially with words; he's a wonderful poet, but he's not very confident in his ability to win over the woman he loves because he has a big nose and thinks himself to be terribly ugly. He's extremely insecure about it.

"Roxane, the woman he's in love with, has an infatuation with a handsome young cadet. She tells Cyrano that she's in love with this boy, so Cyrano feels he cannot tell her of his feelings for her. Now, this cadet, while handsome, is not particularly eloquent, so Cyrano writes letters to Roxane for him. He woos her for another man. Roxane marries this cadet, but he is sent to war and dies in battle before they even get to have their wedding night. So Cyrano has written all these letters that she thinks were from the cadet. She's fallen in love with the man who wrote the letters without realizing that he is still alive.

"She mourns the cadet and is so fiercely determined not to love anyone else that she turns to a convent. Cyrano visits her all the time; he's her only link to the world outside the convent. One day, Cyrano is injured, fatally, while he is on his way to see Roxane. He makes it, but he knows he hasn't much time, so he asks Roxane if he can read to her. She has him read one of his own letters to her signed by the cadet. He's reading these beautiful words to her as the sun goes down, and she realizes, once it's dark, that he's still saying the right words even though there is no way he could possibly be reading them without any light. And she realizes then, as he dies, that he was the one writing to her. He was the one she was in love with all along."

"Wow… That sounds… Just wow. It sounds tragic."

"It was written to be a tragedy, dear."

"Wait. Are you trying to tell me that you liked the notes?"

"I love them. And I love the person behind them, even if she was too insecure for a long time to tell me it was her."

Emma felt as if the breath had been knocked from her lungs. She loves them. She loves me. "Then why were you mad at me at the bar?"

"I told you, I wasn't mad. Just irritated that you left me wanting for so long. I thought I had made it clear that I wanted to meet the writer long ago."

The normally pale skin of her face was suddenly pink at the implication. "… Wanting?"

At this, Regina rose and crossed the room to stand before her, put her hands on the armrests on either side of Emma's body, and bent at the waist so that she was right in Emma's face. "'That outfit would look great in a crumpled heap next to my bed'? 'I'd like to get between your legs and eat my way straight to your heart'? 'My voice would sound better muffled by your thighs'?" she quoted.

Emma laughed, and, gaining some confidence, looked the older woman in the eye and said, "That sweater is very becoming on you, Gina. Of course, if I were on you, I'd probably be coming, too."

Regina's eyes darkened and she moved to straddle the coach's lap, earning a hiss of approval and pleasure from the blonde beneath her as the fingered the now loosened tie she wore. It was the same outfit Emma had worn when she caught Regina just outside her classroom and, oh, seeing the blonde in a tie did funny things to Regina. She leaned forward to nibble at an earlobe and murmured, "I don't know, dear, I think if you were on top of me I'd probably be the one coming."

She pulled back to see the slightly dazed but undeniably aroused expression on the other woman's face and tugged on her tie.

"But there's only one way to find out."

And then Emma's lips were on hers and Regina was trying to fight for dominance and losing, and Emma was picking her up and groping at any skin she could find.

Regina let out a gasp as she suddenly found herself sprawled on the bed. Had Emma just tossed her over here like it was nothing? Of course, she had to be strong, and it wasn't like Regina weighed much, but still. She didn't have time to contemplate it, though, because Emma was crawling toward her with a hungry, predatory look in her eyes. She pressed Regina down into the pillows and kissed her forcefully, teeth colliding for a moment before they found a good rhythm. Emma's tongue ran over Regina's bottom lip seeking entrance, and she readily granted it.

She tastes like vodka, Emma thought. It takes a special woman to taste like vodka and still taste good. She stroked Regina's tongue with her own for just a moment before the other woman sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down hard enough for Emma to give a yelp of surprise.

Regina used that to her advantage and knocked Emma off balance so that she could roll them over and nestle herself between the blonde's strong legs.

"Whatever made you think you'd get to top, dear?" the older woman teased, pressing a knee at the apex of Emma's thighs. This earned a groan, and Regina started to further loosen the tie around the blonde's neck.

Emma stopped her, though. "Regina," she panted, "Are you sure about this? I mean, I don't know about you, but I'm still a little buzzed, and I've wanted this for a long time, so I'm sure, but I really don't want you to regret this in the morning."

"I know what I'm doing," she answered, kissing and nipping at the pale skin of the other woman's neck. "I'm not as drunk as you think I am, or as drunk as you are. I want this. I want you."

"Mmmm, good," came the reply, and then Regina was on bottom again, and Emma was straddling her and ripping her tie off over her head. Deft fingers immediately went to work on the buttons of the blonde's shirt, and she didn't even care that she was now on bottom anymore; she just wanted Emma naked before her.

Regina sat up and Emma slid down so that she was sitting on the other woman's lap. She pulled Regina's Storybrooke Knights sweater up over her head, surprised to find that the older woman wasn't wearing a bra. With one less garment to slow her down, she wasted no time in dipping her head to take a dusky nipple into her mouth.

Regina gasped and arched into the tongue roaming over her chest. Emma heaped attention on her, and she fell back onto the bed once again, drawing in a hissing breath at the loss of contact when the blonde sat back to admire her.

She was perfect, Emma thought. More beautiful than she had imagined, just lying there, panting, dark hair fanning into a halo around her face. She bit her lip and looked down at her until Regina glared at her impatiently. Then, grinning, she leaned down to pepper kisses all over the expanse of tanned skin below her, slowly moving lower and lower until Regina thought she might go crazy if Emma didn't touch her soon.

When she got to Regina's hips, Emma planted a kiss just above where the jeans lay, and then she started working at the button with her teeth. Feeling her hot breath so close to where she really needed her was enough to make the older woman moan with anticipation.

A few minutes later, Emma gave up trying to use her teeth and just ripped the other woman's pants off in one fell swoop. Now Regina was left in nothing but a tiny black lace thong, and Emma couldn't help but stare for a moment.

Regina sat up once more, planting a sound kiss on pale lips and mumbling against them, "I think you are far too overdressed for this particular activity, dear." With this, she started working at Emma's slacks clasp with nimble fingers, and soon, they were on more equal footing. With hungry eyes, Regina started to work at Emma's last pieces of clothing, and soon those undergarments fell away and Regina was gazing unabashedly at her.

Something inside Emma clicked as she saw the adoring way Regina looked at her. She was trying to move so quickly before, jumping at the opportunity to finally have the other woman. But now she realized she should savor this. She should love Regina the way she deserved to be loved, not rush things.

Regina did not seem to be on the same page, however. She pushed Emma onto her back, nudged the blonde's legs apart, and was beginning to nip at her collarbone and run teasing fingers up the inside of her thigh when Emma abruptly stopped her. She looked at her with questioning eyes, but backed off. If Emma had changed her mind about this, then she absolutely would not ask her to keep going.

Instead, though, Emma gently wrapped her arms around her before picking her up to pull back the covers on the bed. She leaned Regina against a mountain of pillows and stopped her when she tried to move with a long, deep kiss. She trailed her fingers over the older woman's taut abdomen before slowly bringing them down to tease at the waistband of the last scrap of fabric separating them.

Despite being deliciously pressed between Emma's body and the pile of pillows behind her, Regina managed to lift her hips, encouraging Emma to tantalizingly slowly slip her fingers into the lace and finally fully disrobe her. Once she had, she sat back on her heels to admire the work of art before her. Emma was met with no hair at all; Regina was clean-shaven, and Emma ached to taste her.

"Emma," came a low, sultry voice. The angel it belonged to lifted her hips in invitation. "Please."

Emma covered Regina's body with her own once more, and Regina kissed her the moment she got close enough. She slipped her tongue into the younger woman's mouth and moaned when she felt Emma's gentle fingers begin stroking her. Her hips twitched against the hand between her legs; gods, she needed this, needed Emma, but the blonde was moving awfully damn slow.

Regina was so wet that Emma hummed in approval the first moment she touched her. It made her want so badly to forget about savoring the moment, sink her fingers into the other woman's wet heat, and fuck her until she couldn't stand. She held tightly to that last bit of self-control, trying very hard to keep herself from just taking the woman hard and fast. Emma kept up the gentle strokes, lightly at first, but slowly adding pressure. She found a sweet spot behind the older woman's ear and latched onto it, alternating between kissing, sucking, and biting at the sensitive skin there. With her free hand, she tried to hold Regina's undulating hips still, not that it was much use, even though she was going slowly and avoiding Regina's most sensitive zones for now.

It appeared Regina was not happy with that. "Emma," she whimpered as the blonde brushed her aching clit, "Stop teasing. Please."

"I'm not teasing. I'm building up. I'm savoring you."

"Emma-"

"No buts. You deserve to be loved properly, and I intend to do that."

"There will be time for that later," the older woman insisted, grabbing Emma's wrist to pull her hand further between her legs. "You can love me like I deserve to be loved later. Right now, I need you to fuck me like I need to be fucked."

Oh, gods, it was hot when the brunette cursed that way. She looked into those warm brown eyes and saw the plea there and heard the needy whimper that escaped those kiss-swollen, red-smudged lips, and the last vestiges of her self-control flew out the window. She plunged two fingers inside the older woman, who managed a gasp and half a sigh before Emma's mouth was on hers and demanding submission, which was readily given.

"Yes. Yes! Emma!" was all Regina could manage before trailing off into unintelligible mumbles and moans. Her nails dug into Emma's back, leaving bloody red crescent shapes in the skin there. When Emma bent her head to recapture the woman's lips, she heard her mewl in her sweet, low, breathy voice, "Mmm, sí, mi querida, por favor, que se siente tan bien," and she pulled back with an amused chuckle. Regina was speaking Spanish. Emma couldn't understand what she was saying, but she could tell by how she said it that she was singing her praises.

Emma hit what must have been a really good spot, because Regina suddenly arched off the mattress with a gasp, and when Emma hit it again and again and rubbed her clit with her thumb, Regina couldn't take any more. She bit down hard on Emma's shoulder to muffle her scream of pleasure and the blonde gasped in surprise but didn't complain. She just kept slamming into Regina, quickly building her up to another peak, and this time, Regina did nothing to mask her cries. She fell back onto the bed, still murmuring, "Dios mío, eso fue increíble, Emma. Eres tan buena en eso. Necesito un momento para recuperar."

Emma laughed and pecked her lips, finally removing her fingers from the other woman's slick heat and bringing them to her mouth. She groaned in arousal at the taste. Regina watched with wide eyes, and despite having just come twice, she felt her own arousal coil in her belly again.

"Santa mierda, eso es caliente. Me estás volviendo loca otra vez, y eso no debería ser posible ahorita."

"Are you aware you're speaking Spanish?"

"¿Qué?" When she heard the Spanish word come out of her mouth, she turned red and covered her mouth with her fingertips. "Sorry," she mumbled through them.

"Sorry? I take it as a point of pride," the blonde grinned. "I fucked you so well you forgot how to speak English."

Regina's eyes narrowed, and she moved her hips to press against the blonde's sure-to-be aching center. As she expected, the woman whimpered and drove her hips down to meet Regina's. The older woman smirked.

"I suppose I'll just have to do the same to you," she retorted, flipping them and pressing Emma down hard into the pillows.

"Joke's on you," Emma panted as Regina rubbed roughly at her clit. "I don't know any other languages. You're stuck with English from me."

Regina had trailed kisses down her body and now smiled prettily from just above her thighs. "Oh, no, it doesn't matter that you don't speak any other languages." Emma could feel her hot breath against her core, teasing her, making her hips jerk toward the lips that were ruby red earlier in the night (they were now their natural shade of pink, as Emma had kissed all her lipstick away). Regina's fingers pressed into the tender flesh of her inner thighs, spreading them wider.

The last thing Emma understood before Regina buried her head between her legs was, "By the time I'm done with you, dear, you won't be able to speak any language at all."

Regina awoke with a start to someone pounding on the door. She groaned and tucked her head back beneath Emma's chin, determined not to get up. She closed her eyes and was just about to fall back asleep when it started again, this time with a voice yelling, "Ms. Mills! Coach! It's almost checkout time!"

Regina's eyes popped open and she sat bolt upright, looking at the clock. It was ten a.m. She had slept five hours later than she usually did. She tried to get up but groaned at the soreness in her muscles. When she looked back at the still-sleeping blonde (how could she possibly sleep through Ruby's incessant yelling?) and remembered just exactly what they had done to make her so sore, she smiled. The night had been well worth the discomfort, and the lack of sleep that had caused them to miss their alarms. She stretched some of the soreness away, then got up and pulled a robe around herself. She shook the blonde coach's shoulder gently.

"Emma? Emma, we have to get up. It's almost time to check out; we have to go."

The younger woman groaned and turned her face into her pillow when Regina opened the curtains so that the late morning light could stream in.

"I know, dear, but you really do have to get up. We've already overslept, and I'm sure the team and the driver are waiting on us."

"Let them wait," Emma muttered, still half-asleep but awake enough to snag Regina's waist when she walked by and pull her back into bed.

"Emma, let go. We have to get up." Regina struggled against the blonde's strong arms for a moment before realizing it was no use. "I'll give you a kiss if you get up," she tried to bargain.

"You'll give me a kiss anyway," Emma smirked, leaning in to claim her lips. Regina turned her head away at the last moment, though, and she ended up kissing her cheek.

"No, I won't. You have to let me go and get up to get a kiss." Regina finally wriggled free of Emma's arms and started digging through her overnight bag for her clothes. When she found them, she looked sternly at the blonde and said, "I'm going to take a quick shower. You had best be up by the time I'm done, or no sex for a week."

Emma grinned cheekily. "So that means last night wasn't just a one-time thing?"

The brunette rolled her eyes and headed for the bathroom, but not without tossing one last comment over her shoulder.

"If you're up quickly enough, perhaps you could join me in the shower."

At that, Emma's eyes widened and she immediately hopped out of bed.

The shower was not as quick as Regina thought it would be.

Once the two were ready, they opened the door to find Ruby and Belle standing there, Ruby with a shit-eating grin on her face.

"Took you two long enough. Everyone else is already downstairs waiting for you."

As they made their way down the stairs (to Regina's dismay; her legs were too damn sore for this), Ruby casually asked what they had done after going to their room last night. She already knew, of course; it wasn't as though they had been quiet, and Regina had a huge hickey behind her ear and she could see a little of what looked like a bite mark peeking out from Emma's sleeve on her shoulder. It was worth asking the question, though, just to see Ms. Mills turn a bright shade of red and turn her face away. Her coach was decidedly less embarrassed; she just gave Ruby a knowing smile and discreetly placed a reassuring hand on her lover's lower back.

When they reached the lobby, Ruby gained everyone's attention by yelling, "Hey, ladies!" She then gestured to the two teachers, who were standing close together, Emma's hand still on Regina's back but creeping lower.

"Success!"

Epilogue

"My queen!" Emma burst into the room, holding up Regina's resized engagement ring. "Your knight has a gift for you!"

Regina looked up at her from her desk with a snort of laughter, and it was then that Emma realized they were not the only ones in the room. All the students were now staring at her, and she dropped her arms to her sides sheepishly. "Sorry. I thought you didn't have a class this period."

Regina smiled fondly at her and shook her head, but beckoned her forward anyway. "That's all right, dear, don't worry. You know I always love to see you. Just maybe don't come in yelling next time, hmm?"

"Yes, ma'am," the blonde replied, dipping her head to kiss her fiancée. She picked up Regina's left hand and held up the ring. "This should fit now," she said before slipping it onto her third finger. "There. Perfect, just like you."

Regina hummed happily and kissed her soon-to-be wife, breaking away when she heard snickering from across the room. She knew exactly who it came from.

"Is something funny, Miss Lucas?"

Emma and Ruby shared a look, and when Ruby nodded, Emma walked around the desk, leaned over the back of Regina's chair, and wrote on a green sticky note, You know what I like in a girl? My fingers. Regina rolled her eyes and, on a pink sticky note, wrote, I don't know, dear, lately it seems like you've been favoring the strap on. She grinned when she saw the dark shade of pink Emma's face and chest had turned, then turned to look at Ruby with a raised eyebrow.

"Miss Lucas, please stop giving her bright ideas like that."

Ruby looked at Emma for a moment, then back to her English teacher. "Why not? You seem to keep the upper hand."

Regina just grinned, and taking her fiancée's hand, replied, "Who, me? Only when it comes to pink and green sticky notes."